


Attempting to Trust

by Justaseck



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Masks, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Protective Natasha Romanov, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Trust Issues, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:30:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justaseck/pseuds/Justaseck
Summary: Tony Stark has more masks than a masquerade party. And has trust issues. But an effort by Natasha to break down his walls is throwing off his usual stoic persona. Because damn if he can't figure her out.





	1. Chapter 1

Natasha sat in the corner of the room watching Tony. He was in the kitchen area, having come out of his workshop to find sustenance after spending almost two full days down there. This was part of a weeklong science binge that had him looking like he was on the edge of exhaustion.

For once, the easygoing mask wasn't being displayed. Instead, the tiredness was etched out in lines on his face. The normally straightened back was hunched as he made himself a sandwich. 

Natasha continued watching him. He hadn't noticed her presence. He was good. At hiding himself away from the public, from the media. From them. And being able to observe him in this unmasked persona, it was quite the contrast to see how much of a show he really did put on when someone was watching. 

He began mumbling to himself and she could make out the phrase "more compact energy system in the backup controls" before he turned to put the leftover ingredients back in the fridge. She smirked to herself. 

Even while completing a mundane task, Stark's mind never shut off. He snapped his fingers. "Jarvis? Run the simulations with an increase of 15% power. Tell me where it spikes at and what the damages are." He grabbed his plate and headed towards the elevator. Natasha watched him go. 

Reading people came instinctively to her. But when it came to a certain Tony Stark, all bets were off. That man could have you believing the sky was green if he flashed you a radiant smile. 

His persona for the press was a part of him that could be displayed at will, and was wielded like a weapon. That's what his masks were to him. Weapons. And he could fool them all. She could guarantee that the Tony she had just seen was only visible to a select few. When his guard was down and he didn't have to put up a facade. It was an interesting development in her overall viewpoint of Stark. 

She knew he hid himself away, but she was just now realizing how well he did it, and the extent. To be able to fool her was an impressive deed and she set out to be one of the few that he didn't have to have his guard up around. Even if it would be highly unlikely, she would attempt it. Nodding to herself, she began planning.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next night was movie night. She began preparing for it early in the evening. The rest of the group was already in the common area and settled into their spots on the couch and chairs. 

Thor always sat in the oversized armchair when he was there. Bruce normally sat in the one on the opposite side of the room. Clint and Natasha normally took one side of the couch and Steve the other. Tony flitted between various spots. Sometimes he was found in the middle of the couch, and would sometimes drape himself over the nearest person, who normally turned out to be Clint. 

If Pepper was around, she would normally sit in his lap on the L-shaped extended part of the couch. If he wasn't feeling particularly touchy, he would sit with a Starkpad and would be pushed into the edge of the couch or would claim a chair to himself. 

He had yet to come out of the lab tonight for the gathering. Natasha was in the kitchen stirring a pot on the stove. She heard the elevator doors open and saw Tony walking in. His was in clean jeans and a t-shirt but he had missed a spot of something on his cheek. His hair was tousled, showing that he had quickly pulled on the fresh clothes before making his way to their floor. 

She grabbed a paper towel and dampened it. When he came into the kitchen he gave her a quick grin. She tossed the towel at him. At his look of confusion she pointed at his cheek. 

"Missed a spot." As he wiped it off, she turned back to her pot. He sniffed the air and came around to her side. 

"Is that.." He leaned over and took another whiff. "Hot chocolate?" She could've laughed at his hopeful expression. 

Everyone knew she made the best hot chocolate. And she didn't make it all that often. She grabbed two mugs and poured the steaming chocolate. Sliding one towards Tony, she did laugh when he lit up and she was rewarded with a giant smile. A genuine smile. That was a success in her book. 

He clutched the mug with both hands. "You're my favorite, Red." She rolled her eyes. Normally his favorite was the last person to either give him coffee or help him with something in the lab. This meant Bruce was normally the default favorite. 

They walked into the common room where the beginning of the movie was already starting. As soon as Clint saw the mug she was carrying he made grabby hands at it. "Hands off, Barton." He whined at her refusal. She smacked him on the back of the head as she went to grab a couple blankets. 

Jarvis dimmed the lights and she settled herself in between Clint and Tony. She didn't miss the flash of surprise that was quickly schooled into indifference from Tony as she spread the blankets across them. And she certainly didn't miss the huff of shock he emitted when she leaned her head on his shoulder. She ignored the questioning glance from Clint as she tucked her feet under his thighs and settled herself, now completely comfortable. 

Tony awkwardly had his mug of hot chocolate in one hand and his other arm was caught between hovering over shoulder and waving above the back of the couch like he was afraid to touch her. Rolling her eyes internally, she eyed him out of the corner of her eye. "Breathe, Stark. I'm not going to kill you. You can put your arm down." 

He slowly lowered it and let it rest on the back of the couch, his hand dangling towards her shoulders. Her words were said quietly but it still brought the attention of Clint who shushed them and gave her a prompt poke on her leg. She retaliated with a shove of her foot that was still tucked under his leg. 

Tony was still tense beside her. As the movie played the first scenes of Titanic, she could feel him relax minutely. He still seemed to be a moment away from springing up off the couch if she so much a breathed wrong or made any sudden moves. She could see Bruce looking at them, but he soon turned his attention back to the screen. Finally, about 15 minutes into the film, Tony let himself enjoy the movie and seemed to forget about the assassin tucked beside him. 

The way she could tell was not by his face, but by the way he started running his fingers through her hair, idly massaging her scalp. He did so distractedly, all attention focusing on the way Jack was interacting with Rose on the lower deck of the ship. 

And she could feel the exact moment he realized what he was doing when his whole body went as rigid as a 2x4 piece of wood as she leaned back into the head scratch. 

He muttered a curse under his breath as his arm made a hasty retreat. Natasha turned to look at him. "If you stop, I cannot guarantee your safety." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear. 

Tony swallowed his next words as he stared at her. She seemed dead serious. He continued on with the scalp massage, running his fingers through her hair. She could still feel his gaze as she turned to look back at the tv. And that was how they finished the movie night. 

As soon as the end credits began rolling Tony jumped up from the couch and grabbing both of the empty mugs, headed towards the kitchen. He made a beeline for the elevator to take him down to his workshop. The other Avengers were all still in the common room. Clint wanted to watch another movie and it seemed that everyone was agreeable to sticking around for another movie.

Natasha knew that Tony was probably freaking out down in his workshop. Social cues we not his forte. Trusting people was not his forte. He had allowed her to lean on him during the movie, but she was fairly confident in assuming he had no idea what she was trying to achieve. That she wanted those defensive walls to come down. It was going to take some more time and work for him to grow comfortable enough to even begin thinking about trusting her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm, not sure if this even fits in this fic or would do better in one of my other ones but I'll put it here for now.

Tony was down in his lab staring at his workbench. He hadn’t moved in the past hour. There were deep lines of pain etched in his face, showing the stress caused by the arc reactor that was normally ignored most days. Not today. 

No, today Tony had woken up with a deep twinge in his chest. The muscles around the reactor were angry and irritated and each breath had him hunching over. 

He rolled his eyes at himself. As if hunching over would help. There was nothing short of knocking him out that would relieve the pain that days like these brought. There was no relief at all, he thought to himself. 

Normally these days had him curling up in bed, attempting to ignore the pain through sheer stubbornness. If he did manage to fall asleep the pain would be dulled to his unaware senses. 

But he couldn’t spend the day in bed. There was a deadline for Stark Industries that was coming up at the end of the week. Which meant final reviews, preparations for the press release, and an insane amount of paperwork. So. Much. Paperwork. 

You would think a tech company would have rid itself of paperwork by now, but try as he did to avoid the responsibility, Pepper always managed to have a lifetime supply, ready to dole out to him. 

He groaned as he shifted his gaze to the mountainous pile. The holographic design was displaying the 3D model of the latest improvements of the device. His bots were both in their charging stations after an unfortunate run-in with Dum-E and the blender. He made a mental reminder to have Jarvis call someone to come repair the hole in the wall. And the shattered window. And replace the electrical outlet that had spontaneously burst into flames. 

Sighing, he grabbed a pen and glared at the stack of papers that hadn’t miraculously dwindled down at all. A blinking light caught his attention. 

“Unmute, Jarvis.” A quiet tone acknowledged his words before Jarvis spoke. Tony had muted him after the third time of him suggesting he get some rest. 

-Sir, Agent Romanoff is at the door requesting access.-  
The normally warm cadence of Jarvis was short and clipped, a response no doubt to what he thought about being muted for most of the day. 

Tony looked over to the door. Sure enough, Natasha was standing at the door. He couldn’t quite figure her out. Now that she was Natasha, and not the Natalie she pretended to be, she had a whole different persona that mostly consisted of a mask of indifference. 

Except for last night’s movie night. That had confused the hell out of him when she had not only given him hot chocolate, but had also initiated contact with him when they had settled down into the couch. 

He thought he had been facing his death when he had absently began stroking her hair, which was something he did to Pepper when they sat next to each other. When he had realized that he was doing it to none other than the Black Widow, he knew that his life was over. 

And then she had gone off and done the one thing that he least expected and had asked him to continue. His brain could still not wrap itself around that fact. And now, here she was, standing at he door. He had no idea what angle she was playing. 

“Let her in, Jarvis.” A click and the door swung open with her entrance. He watched as she took in his hunched appearance, complete with dark eye circles, the workshop’s disarray, the hole in the wall, and the stack of paperwork in front of Tony as he fiddled with a pen. 

Her eyes met his as she spoke. “Jarvis? Could you order us some food? Pizza would be fine.”

-Certainly. The usual order has been placed.- 

“Thank you, Jarvis.” She walked over to the desk and grabbed a pile of papers. “I can see you’ve made a lot of progress on these.” She smirked. 

Scowling, he turned to face her. “Paperwork should not be legal anymore. It should all be replaced by beautiful technology and… Oh my god, make it stop,” he said as a notification on his email chimed. Another notification about preparations for the upcoming release. 

Natasha read the list of things that had to be done over his shoulder. She could see the way he held himself that it was not a good day for him pain-wise. Which is why he had probably been glaring weakly at the paperwork and his normal endless energy was missing, leaving him hunched in his chair with an endless to-do list. 

She read over the forms in her hand and grabbed a pen from his desk. “Okay with me forging your signature?” She asked over her shoulder. Her answer was a blank stare before his brain caught up with her words. Rubbing his chest, he nodded. “Sure. I don’t care what you do with it. Personally, I was hoping these would all burn in the spontaneous fire that ruined the outlet but it seems no such luck for that happening.” 

She wasn’t even going to ask about the damaged walls and outlet that still had clear scorch marks. Things tended to get damaged when Stark was sleep deprived and trying to science at the same time. Though the lack of bots running around the shop was a telling sign of who the culprits might be this time around. She began filling out the forms in her lap. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tony staring at her until he finally turned and grabbed his own papers. 45 minutes later, Jarvis notified them of the pizza being delivered. She got up and fetched it and walked back into the lab munching on a slice. 

Tony was back to staring at the computer screen, papers forgotten. His whole body was tense and he let out a small gasp as a wave of pain from the reactor rolled over him. Her entrance back into the lab was unnoticed. 

“Shit. Why can’t this stupid thing behave today?” He mumbled. “It’s not even raining.”

That stopped her in her tracks. She knew the reactor acted up sometimes, causing him even more pain than normal on certain days. But she had never made the connection with weather being an issue. She cursed to herself. Of course it would make a difference. How many times did she listen to Clint moaning about his joints when the weather changed? For Stark, it must be that times a thousand. Without a break from the constant pain, that would be enough to drive a person insane. 

And yet, he carried on like everything was normal. Like there was nothing that could ever bother Tony Stark. Like he had it all. Upgrades to their equipment, fighting alongside them as Iron Man, doing R&D for Stark Industries, organizing press conferences, galas, and charities. Nothing could stop him. 

And so seeing him like this, in a vulnerable state brought home once again the show that he put on every day. Bringing her hand up to grab the pizza boxes, the movement caught his eye and he straightened, hiding a wince. His face smoothed out and he shot her a grin. 

“Ooh, good. I was on the brink of starvation and you are here to save me!” He clapped his hands together and she watched as his face paled as a result of the sudden movement. Enough.

“Stark. Couch. Now.” Her voice left no room for argument. His expression went from one of pain to surprise to wariness in a matter of seconds.

“I was talking to the pizza being the one to save me, you know. One of those is for me, right?” He slowly rose and made his way over to the couch. 

“Yes. How bad is it?” She nodded to his reactor. “I can tell it’s a really bad in terms of pain, but what I can’t tell is if there’s anything that can be done that you’re too stubborn to do. And if you try to lie to me I will call Pepper so fast you won’t know what hit you.” 

“What? No! Don’t call Pepper! I haven’t finished her paperwork yet!” He said, frantic. A second later he looked back up, affronted. “You wouldn’t dare.” At her raised eyebrow he asked, “Would you?” After a moment of silence he nodded to himself and muttered into his slice of pizza. “Yeah, I guess you would.”

Grabbing another slice, she waited for his response. He fidgeted on the couch before letting out a long sigh.

“Nothing I can’t handle, Red. It’s pretty sore today but there’s nothing I can do short of knocking myself out that will help with the pain.” He gestured to the papers and around his workshop. “And that’s not an option.” He didn’t look at her as she studied him. 

Pretty sore. King of understatements right there. “Alright, well I can at least help you with your paperwork and make sure you’re fed and watered.”

He snorted. “What am I, a plant?” 

“No. A plant would have better self preservation skills than you.” 

He grabbed his chest lightly. “You wound me!” 

The next few hours were spent with the monotony of filling out form and signing signatures. Stark was incapable of working in silence so every once in awhile he would prattle on about something. It ranged from SHIELD to science experiments he was running to possible upgrades to the pros and cons of installing an ice cream machine in the kitchen. 

He seemed to relax as she would respond with each jump in topic. The stack of paperwork was almost finished when his phone rang. Pepper appeared on the screen and was met with an excited “Hi Pepper!” from Tony. 

Her expression softened as she greeted him. And she outright smiled when she saw he was almost done with the papers. He was quick to point out Natasha’s help and she greeted Pepper herself as she dropped the last of it off on the desk. She bid them farewell and headed for the door. 

A few hours later, she received a text from Pepper that said:  
-Thank you. He needed help today and I’m glad you were there to help. Also, he never would’ve done the paperwork without you so I appreciate that as well.-

Moments later she received another text from Tony saying:  
-Whatever Pepper says is a lie and don’t believe a single thing she tells you.-  
Another chime and then: -But thanks for your help. I owe you one.-

She knew that he didn’t owe her anything and for a genius, he seemed to struggle with that realization. But hopefully she could make him see the truth in it someday.


End file.
